Throughout the centuries man has searched for ways to travel over uneven soft surfaces like water. We have found that it is difficult to (1) travel fast, (2) operate over water, land, ice, mud, snow and soft sand. (3) operate with minimal drag in all these environments, (4) remain stable while stationary or moving, (5) operate without docking facilities, (6) operate with minimum potential damage to life and property in these environments and (7) adapt to many load conditions and configurations. This new category of spidercraft vessel is designed to address all of these constraints.
All known vehicles have problems in at least one of these operating environments or must slow down to a fraction of their maximum speed over rough terrain. This patent application reviews the prior art for vehicles making claims for travel over water, and contrasts their abilities with the claims for the new spidercraft field of invention. The amphibian craft have problems going fast and are typically unable to handle seas well at any speed. Today's advanced marine vehicles (AVM's) for operation at high speeds in or above rough water include speed boats, hydroplanes, and hovercraft. In addition there are aircraft that fly close to the water and have at least one wing in ground effect (WIG). All of these designs require some form of docking facilities to aid in loading and unloading and require a trailer or hoist for removal from the water.